Committee taps nine more for sexual orientation task force

Dec. 10, 2012

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Humor, youth, and — most importantly — a level head were among the traits City Council members considered today as they sought to fill the remaining seats on a new citizen task force.

Starting in the new year, members of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Task Force will begin researching discrimination against gay and transgender residents in Springfield as well as a proposal to add non-discrimination protections to city code.

Retired Greene County Judge Miles Sweeney will serve as non-voting chair of the group. Mayor Bob Stephens on Thursday announced the names of eight task force members appointed by individual council members.

Council’s Public Involvement Committee met at noon to sift through about four dozen applications from residents seeking one of the seven remaining seats on the task force.

The committee’s recommendations go to the mayor for review, then could be voted on by the full council as early as Dec. 17.

Based on Councilman Scott Bailes suggestion, the four members of the selection committee each nominated five applicants for discussion today.

Local comedian Jeff Houghton, a copywriter for the Marlin Network marketing agency Deep and host of The Mystery Hour, was the first consensus choice to emerge with three votes.

“A little humor on that board would be good,” Bailes said.

Three other applicants — Rick McLain, Gary Whitaker and Ginger Holczer — also were added to the list after receiving multiple nominations.

Councilwoman Cindy Rushefsky questioned the inclusion of McLain, president of an electrical contracting business, based on his religious background. A deacon at Cherry Street Baptist Church, McLain also has a degree from Baptist Bible College.

Rushefsky said she doesn’t know McLain or what his personal beliefs are. In general, “I’m trying to avoid someone who’s going to preach and not listen,” she said.

Councilman Jeff Seifried also lobbied for McLain, saying McLain — who lives in Seifried’s council zone — contacts him about city issues regularly. “I know he’s passionate about the city and he’s not a one-issue guy.”

Committee members thought Holczer, a clinical psychologist who has taught about gay and transgender issues, would provide a balance to McLain.

Bailes described Whitaker, the owner and publisher of 417 Magazine, as a more moderate voice who would represent business, although Compton noted he had received an email from Whitaker’s wife, Joan, supporting protections for gay and transgender residents.

Pam Sailors, a philosophy professor and associate dean at Missouri State University was the committee’s next selection. Members noted that Sailors has written about gender equality in sports and issues related to transgender athletes.

The committee then added MSU student Sarah Smith to the list, saying the college freshman and lifelong Springfield resident would help represent younger residents.

The final voting seat went to Steve Gardner, a retired instructional designer who is a pastoral assistant at South Street Christian Church Disciples of Christ.

Compton said he thinks the denomination is “kind of in the middle” on the issue gay rights and that Gardner “is close to a variety of populations” in Springfield.

Seifried praised his experience on a number of city boards, including the Mayor’s Commission on Human Rights and the Traffic Advisory Board. “He’s not a newcomer.”

Committee members selected Cindy Lear and Angela Filbeck as alternates for the task force.

Seifried described Lear, the co-owner of Nixa-based interpreting service Associates in Sign Language, as “a very good listener (who is) passionate about our community.”

Filbeck, who ran for Associate Greene County Commissioner as a Democrat in November, recently earned a master’s degree in public administration from MSU.

Pending approval by City Council, members of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Task Force include:

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• Miles Sweeney, retired Greene County judge (non-voting chair)

• Rev. Michael Overton, pastor at First Baptist Church

• David Trippe, retired teacher

• Dr. Robert Saylor, director of ethics for Mercy Healthy System

• Dick Hardy, former vice president at Central Bible College and consultant to the Assemblies of God

• Randy Doennig, owner of Meridian Title Company, openly gay and a member of the gay rights organization PROMO

• Lorie Latimer, co-owner of Springfield Special Products

• Lola Butcher, a member of Brentwood Christian Church and its Center for Diversity and Reconciliation

• Lynne Meyerkord, is executive director of AIDS Project of the Ozarks

• Jeff Houghton, copywriter and variety show host

• Rick McLain, president of REDICO, LLC electrical contractor

• Gary Whitaker, owner and publisher of 417 Magazine

• Ginger Holczer, self-employed clinical psychologist

• Pam Sailors, philosophy professor and associate dean at Missouri State University